Wednesday, February 18, 2004

The U.S. military issued Tuesday, for the first time, a wanted list of dozens of key figures suspected of leading the anti-U.S. insurgency in Iraq, including a $1 million reward for a senior Baath Party figure believed to be running guerrilla cells...

The list of 32 wanted people included suspected cell leaders, former members of Saddam Hussein's military and regional Baath leaders thought to be helping the insurgency, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, deputy operations chief.

At the top of the list, with a $1 million reward, is Mohammed Yunis al-Ahmad, a former top Baath Party official. Rewards between $50,000 and $200,000 were offered for the others.

''He is one of the former [regime] personnel we suspect of significant anti-coalition activities,'' Kimmitt said of al-Ahmad. ``We have reason to believe he has been running cells in certain parts of this country.''

The military has been compiling the list as it built up a better understanding of the insurgency, Kimmitt told reporters. ''Some names keep popping up,'' he said.